A Dog's Best Friend
by DakotaPanther
Summary: Eren saves a small dog with a big heart.


"Eren, honey, is everything alright?" Eren froze. How could he have been spotted so quickly? Looking up at his mother's suspicious eyes, he pulled his large coat tighter around himself and the small bulge near his chest.

"Everything is great, mom! I'm just feeling a bit tired!" He tried to play off her suspicions and continued walking to his room. However, from that glint in her eyes, he knew that she wasn't going to let him off the hook that easily.

"What do you have in your coat, sweetheart?" Eren sighed, supposing that he wasn't going to be able to fool Carla's watchful eye. He then unwrapped his coat, and showed his mother what looked to be a small corgi in his arms. On the plus side, his mother appeared to find the dog just as adorable as Eren did.

"You know we don't have the money to keep a dog, Eren." She shook her head softly at her son's behavior. "But mom, we can't just leave him out on the streets! When I found him he was being attacked by dogs just because he's small!" Eren was absolutely livid that the dog had to go through that, and having been picked on by the older kids, he knew how it felt to be ganged up on because he was the odd kid out. Well, that and his temper. "I'll share my food with him, how much could he need to eat anyways!"

Carla couldn't help but be proud of her son in that moment. He was always so caring of those less fortunate than him. Perhaps caring for a pet would help teach Eren about responsibility. Smiling, she reached out to pet the tiny dog. "Ok, Eren. Though remember you said that. Your responsibility. What are you going to name her?"

That made Eren do a double take of the dog. "Her? I was going to name her Buddy. But I thought she was a dude."

"How about Alaska? I get the feeling that her heart is bigger than her body. She wasn't backing down when outnumbered by those big dogs." Carla suggested to her son after a bit of thought.

"You like the name Alaska?" Eren asked the dog. The dog didn't seem to understand but it just wagged its tail. "Alaska it is, then!" He said and then ran to his room with the newly named dog. He called over his shoulder "Thanks mom!" and then played with the dog until it was time for dinner.

_(A few days later)_

"Armin, meet Alaska!" Eren said to his blonde friend. He didn't try to disguise the excitement in his voice. His two best friends were meeting and there was no way they wouldn't click. He then held up the small dog in front of his friend's face.

"N-nice to meet you, Alaska. I brought you something." Armin said to the dog then pulled out a piece of bread to offer to the dog. He had clearly planned for today. Alaska sniffed it for a second before deeming that it met her high standards then made quick work of the bread.

"She likes you, Armin!" Eren told his friend with a large grin on his face.

"R-really? I'm glad to hear it!" Armin replied while getting his face licked by the dog. He wasn't sure what he would have done if the dog had rejected him. He had read in one of his grandfather's books that dogs can smell fear, which ironically made him more anxious. However, this dog didn't seem to mind his moods.

"So Armin, would you like to help me train Alaska?" Before Armin even fully processed Eren's request, he was nodding. He would always be willing to help his best friend. "Which tricks would you like to teach her?"

Eren had been thinking about this for a while. "I'd like to be able to have her sit, stay follow me, and attack on command to start with." This list seemed pretty basic to Eren, however the look on Armin's face made him wonder if he had said something wong.

"A-attack? Eren, I'm not sure you should be teaching her to fight. Look at the size of her. She could easily get hurt."

"It'll be ok, Armin. I would only have her attack if she is in danger. If not, we would just run. I won't just put her in danger." He tried to comfort Armin. He didn't seem quite convinced, but they had plenty of time to train Alaska where he can change his mind.

"How about we start with teaching her how to sit."

_(Two months later)_

"Are you two ready to see the Ackermans?" Grisha said, looking down at his son and the dog his son had started taking everywhere.

"Give me one second, dad." Eren said, but he was distracted. He was currently trying to get his dog to wear a tiny red scarf that matches the one his mother wrapped around him. After wrestling with Alaska, the dog decided to tolerate the scarf for now. So cute! "We're ready now, dad."

On the way to the house, Grisha gave Eren a talk about how they needed to be on their best behavior, and that Mikasa will need space. Apparently they don't get many visitors and she had likely never gotten close to a dog before. Eren will need to make sure that Alaska is not acting up. Eren thought that was a given, but still remained in an excited mood at the concept of a new friend. Even the biting cold wouldn't ruin today.

When they arrived, the sun had already retreated below the horizon. Eren felt on edge, but dismissed his feeling as nerves. His father stepped up to the door of the somewhat isolated house and knocked. Instead of anyone answering the door, it creaked open. Why hadn't they locked their door?

Eren's stomach dropped the sight of a man covered in blood on the ground. There was no way he was still alive. Grisha continued into the house, but Eren was feeling sick. He threw up into the grass near him and then picked up Alaska. When he looked further into the house he saw another body, a woman who was just as blood stained as the man. Crimson seemed to take over the entire house. He hugged Alaska tighter in an attempt to not hurl again. His father returned and took him out of the house that reeked of death.

"Eren. I couldn't find their daughter, Mikasa, in the house. She may still be alive. Wait here while I go get help and arrange a search party." Grisha said and then rushed off the way that they came.

Eren just stood next to the house in shock. He had never seen a dead body before, and he didn't think he would be able to forget that any time soon. As his mind started to process what his father had told him. Their daughter is alive. But his tone was urgent and Eren isn't stupid. She could be being hurt or killed as he stood here. Would the search party be able to reach her in time? Eren needed to look for her too. Perhaps he could try to have Alaska track the girl? Or the kidnappers if they left anything?

Eren went back into the stench of death to search. His eyes fell on a blood soaked knife that had been dropped in the corner. Had one of the Ackermans (Ackermen?) fought back or was that used to take their lives?

Eren decided to grab the weapon as well as pick up some cloth that looked like it was in the process of being knitted before it had been abandoned. If Eren couldn't find Mikasa, she would never be able to knit again. The parents' lives had already been cut too short, and Eren would not let her suffer the same fate.

Eren held up the items to Alaska, hoping that the dog would be able to understand what he was asking for. Armin has been helping him train Alaska, and they had introduced the concept of tracking, but she would only find the item she was supposed to track some of the time. Also the items were always treats. A missing girl is a lot different. When he held the knife up to her, she just sat there, confused as to what he wanted.

Eren expected that, but still was disappointed. He has a second item, though. He held up the knitting to the dog. Alaska seemed to have a trail for this item's scent. He allowed himself to feel a surge of hope at the thought of finding the girl alive. The dog was running out of the door and Eren needed to catch up.

They ran for a few minutes before coming to another cabin surrounded by wildlife. The dog didn't seem to know how to follow the trail with the door shut, and sat down. "Sorry, Alaska. Your reward will have to wait for when we get home." Eren said then took a second to think about what he should do next. He wished he could bring his father and the search party to this location, but who knows how far away they are right now. By the time they get back, the kidnappers may already have abandoned the place.

Eren looked at what he had in his hands. He still had the cloth and the knife that he picked up. He decided to put the cloth away for now. He wasn't sure how many people are in the house right now, but he needed to overpower them and get the girl out of there. He was at such a disadvantage that he knew he couldn't afford to concern himself with the lives of the criminals as well. He is willing to do whatever it takes to get out of there with Mikasa and Alaska.

He knocked on the cabin door, hands shaking. Last time they knocked on a door, corpses had littered the ground. He hoped that this time would be different.

An ugly man with a scarred face opened the door, obviously not expecting anyone to find them so soon. "What do you want, kid?" His voice was raspy and sickening. "Uh- I got lost and saw this cabin. Can you help me look for my dad?" Eren tried to get the gross man his guard down.

The man glanced behind himself then smiled at Eren. If he hadn't seen corpses today, Eren would have decided it was the most chilling thing he had seen today. But this man is a murderer. He is not a friendly man trying to help Eren. He just wants to trick Eren, but Eren knows better. This man in front of him is better off dead. _He doesn't deserve to live. _

Eren needed to kill him and check on Mikasa. He's not even looking at Eren right now. He can do this. He brought the knife to the man's stomach with as much force as he could manage. He then ripped out the knife and struck again. And again.

With the first piece of garbage out of the way, Eren pushed the door open the rest of the way and crept down the hallway. He pushed the first door on his right open and looked in. It was just a supply closet. If Eren knew how much time Mikasa had, he would search the closet to see if there was anything in there that could be helpful. However, he was racing against the clock.

Eren saw two other rooms that he would need to search. After taking a deep breath that did nothing to ease the horrible feeling he had, he approached the next door on his left. He opened it and scanned the room. There was a girl with black hair tied up on the right side, and another piece of garbage on the left side of the room.

"Excuse me sir, can you help me find my father?" Eren tried, even though this man seemed a bit smarter than his fallen comrade. He rushed Eren, and even though Eren tried to stab him, he caught his wrist. "Alaska! Attack!" Eren yelled for backup.

Alaska bit at the man's legs, causing him to not focus on Eren and lose his balance. Eren used this opening to get free and successfully land a hit on the man. He made sure the man was down before going to the girl he assumed was Mikasa.

He took the gag out of her mouth and untied her wrists. "I'm Eren. Dr. Jaeger's son. We need to get out of here." He said while helping her up. She looked so heartbroken, but he also saw hope in her eyes. Unfortunately, there was another man in the house. Perhaps he had just gotten here, or perhaps he had been in the third room he hasn't checked yet. But now he was being lifted in the air by a hand on his neck. "Attack!" Eren yelled, trying to get his dog to help him.

There seemed to be some misunderstanding, though, because when he opened his eyes he saw Mikasa grabbing the knife and pushing it through the man's back. He was relieved to get help, even though it was from an unexpected source. He grabbed Mikasa's hand and they escaped the cabin, not willing to risk running into any more kidnappers.

Once they were outside, he allowed himself to feel relief. All three of them were safe. He actually saved Mikasa. They walked back to the house where his father was probably looking for him in a somewhat awkward silence. As he looked to her, she seemed to be in shock. He wrapped his scarf around her and she actually looked a little happy. "Thank you." She blushed.

When Grisha saw trio walking towards the cabin, he was furious. His son had rushed into what could've been an early grave. But he survived and saved a life. He briefly considered praising Eren, but this behavior is dangerous, and shouldn't be encouraged despite how it turned out this time. However, he could talk to Eren later. Mikasa had been through so much today. When they talked, they established that Mikasa had no other family that she knows of and nowhere to go. She was just alone.

"Mikasa, you can live with our family. We have plenty of room." Despite Grisha's insistence, she seemed to believe that she would be a burden.

"Let's go home, Mikasa." Eren grabbed her hand and tugged her toward the way their house is. Tears flowed down face into the scarf Eren gave her. Her eyes showed the most happiness that she has felt since the loss of her family.

"Ok."


End file.
